You Reap What You Sow
by Daktasinsanity
Summary: Ellen is a seamstress in a small town of Shiganshina. She repairs the clothing needed by the near by army base. One day an officer she has not seen before walks into her store and changes her life for good. (Fem!Eren/Levi)
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** I have had this story in my head for the past six months and now I finally found the time to start writing it.. well more like, finally manned up to write it or something like that.

I decided to use a "feminine" version of Eren's name because this is not a reincarnation story.

**WARNING:** There is a rape attempt in this fic. Leave now if you do not want to read anything that even suggests something such as that.

* * *

**You Reap What You Sow**

* * *

**Part 1/2**

* * *

Ellen was sweeping the counter with a rag to clean away any pecks of possible dust. Running shop loaded with fabrics was not an easy task to keep clean. There was small pieces of thread to be found on the floor every single day and needles tended to drop into the floor cracks. For the sake of keeping the shop pleasing to look at Ellen went through a small routine each day, sweeping the counter and checking the floor with a magnet attached to a broomstick.

The town's people brought her their clothes to be repaired and she had taken the job of repairing any clothing needed by the near by army base. The town provided everything the army might need at their base for the exchange of them keeping the town in order. In reality the army would not be able to feed themselves without buying their food from the town so they were more at the town's mercy than anything.

There had been talks of war for a few years now and the news kept getting darker every week. It seemed that war with the neighboring country was inevitable and people were holding their breaths, waiting for the last straw that would cause an all out war to break out.

Ellen was worried but not so much as Shiganshina was not that close to the border even if it was remotely the closest one. There was a good hundred miles before the border was met. Between here and there it was a vast grassland used by cow herders to feed their stock.

The town itself was not that big, people knew each other rather well and most of the soldiers at the base were also well known by the town's people.

So that day Ellen knew something was definitely changing when the person from the base was a different one she had ever met. She recognized the uniform and saw the tags on the man's shoulders to know that he was not a mere soldier, an officer of some sort.

"Good day," the man greeted her as soon as he was inside her small shop. He was very handsome in Ellen's opinion. He had black hair and the traditional military undercut. He was slightly shorter than she was but that did not make him lack any charm. The man appeared serious but his eyes were not cold. Ellen remembered her late mother's advice not to judge people before you have at least talked to them.

"Hello, how can I help you?" she asked politely even though she knew exactly why he was there judging by the small parcel he was carrying.

"I came to bring these for repairs." He put the parcel down on the counter with care, not slamming it down like most people might have.

"I'll have them ready in two days as always," she said with a smile and took the parcel to the back of the shop. She opened it and found couple of shirts and a pair of pants needing new buttons and few ripped seams, nothing she couldn't handle in the time she had available. When she came back the man was still standing there which was odd. "Is there something else you need?" she asked.

"I realized we didn't introduce ourselves. I'm Captain Levi," the man offered her his hand to shake.

Ellen laughed nervously and shook it. "I'm Ellen Jaeger. Nice to meet you, Captain." She wasn't sure what t make of it. The man seemed to be just overly polite and genuine.

"Likewise." Levi turned her hand upwards and placed a kiss on the back of her hand.

Ellen blinked couple of times, not knowing if she should be alarmed or charmed by it. She chose the latter when the man straightened and gave her a small smile.

"I'll be back for those in two days time."

"Yes, yes, of course." She retreated her hand, clutching it to her chest.

"Good bye, Miss Jaeger," Levi said when he was about to step out of the store.

As soon as the man was gone, she ran to the back of the shop. What the hell had just happened? She stared at the back of her hand. No one had ever treated her like that before. What had been going on in the head of that man? Ellen's heart skipped a beat as she thought of the possibilities of what it meant. She shook her head. She was getting ahead of herself thinking of silly things like romance.

The thought had crossed her mind many times in the past. Would she ever find anyone who would be interested in her? She wanted to experience things like dating someone but she knew it was utter madness to think that she had anything to offer to a military officer. She was not that pretty, was she?

She shook her head again and got to work. She had clothes to repair and there was also a order of baby clothes to make for the Johnson family that was expecting their first born. She had her hands full for the evening. She had her sewing machine placed so that she could see the door at any time if someone happened to walk in.

Even though she said she would not think about it, her mind kept drifting to the handsome officer who had visited her.

* * *

Had he gone too far? Levi walked calmly all the way back to the base. It was only a mile outside the town, a distance that was nothing to achieve on foot. The cool air felt good and kept his mind in check and clear. He had never thought he would do something so impulsive. He had only meant to to take the parcel and leave but something had made him stay. He had used the introduction as an excuse to linger and even touch the young woman.

She was beautiful and Levi could not wait to see her again in two days. He could have easily delegated the task to someone else but he was sure he would be the one to make the trips to the small shop from now on.

Levi had arrived to the base a few days ago with a company of soldiers and even without knowing the exact plans this was clearly a move to ensure the safety of the border. They'd be the first to know if someone crossed it. Levi assumed that if the war was going to break out, there would surely be battalions send to the base. The upcoming next few days or weeks would tell him more.

Levi had not been happy about his transfer to the remote base near some such as remote little town but now he could not say that anymore. He had met a cute seamstress already and he could not deny that he'd like to get to know her. His first impression of Ellen Jaeger was nothing but a positive one.

As Levi suspected, in the next morning there were orders for them to get ready to accommodate five battalions of soldiers within two weeks of time. The soldiers would arrive in waves, slowly filling the fields. There was huge amount of work to do but that was not the problem at all. It was the looming threat of war that was getting closer and closer. They had further orders to prepare just in case for more soldiers flooding in the next month.

In no time there would be whole division of soldiers and heavy artillery arriving if the signs were correct. There were rumors circling about it within the base. Someone must have heard something somewhere and Levi had been warned before he had been transferred.

_People from that base are send to the front lines. Time is running out, Levi._

Those words had been whispered into his ear. Levi knew what it meant. There was a high possibility that he would die, being so close to the border and within the first battalion to march out. He knew his fate and what was his duty. Nevertheless he would do the best he could to survive out there.

But for now, it was not something he needed to worry about. He would cross that bridge when he came to it.

* * *

"I hear there is a patch of new soldiers in the base," Sasha whispered to Ellen, leaning over the counter.

There was no one else in the shop and Ellen was checking her stocks. She was running low on pins to sell. She'd need to order some more and so she listed it on her notepad. "I met one yesterday," she told Sasha who looked more than excited about the news.

"Really?" Sasha practically squeaked. "Was he good looking? Please tell me he was!"

Ellen raised an eyebrow at her pleas. "What has gotten into you?"

"I'm dying to find a handsome man to sweep me off my feet. Maybe the man of my dreams is within those new ones," Sasha said with a joking tone. "You know, Ellen, if the war breaks out, who knows when is the next time we see another man?"

Ellen could not argue with that. Most of the men from their town would be joining in most probably. Some already had, discreetly. "Oh, Sasha," Ellen said accompanied by a sigh.

"What? What is wrong with a little romance?"

"Nothing, absolutely nothing."

"See, so why don't we find ourselves some nice fellows and have some fun, hmm?"

Ellen hold her breath as she thought about it. "That isn't like me, Sasha. I'm not outgoing like you."

"Ellen please, come on. We can ask Mikasa to come with us. She'll protect us from bad guys."

It was common knowledge that the guys from the base liked to use the local bar. The business was blooming over there because of those said soldiers.

Sasha's puppy eyes were really convincing. "Pretty please?"

Ellen gave up. "Okay but.." as soon as those words left her mouth Sasha jumped up and clapped her hands, overjoyed. "I'm coming home before ten. I have work to do."

"Work, work, all you ever do is work, Ellen. You need to let loose from time to time," Sasha told her.

"I have nothing else but this shop and you know that." Ellen had lost her mother five years ago and the shop was the only thing she had left of her. Carla had taught her everything she knew about sewing and fabrics. Her father had gone missing soon after Carla's death. Ellen wasn't sure if he had simply left to another town or if he was even alive anymore.

"But still... Ellen, we are not that young anymore and who knows with this war breathing down our necks if we even will be here to see our kids grow old."

"We have no kids."

"Exactly!" Sasha cried out. "So let's make the most of it before times get bad, okay?"

Ellen smiled at her friend. People were preparing for the worst. They really didn't know what kind of reality would face them if or when the war started. Maybe some fun wouldn't be such a bad idea after all. Ellen briefly thought if she would see the handsome Captain tonight.

In the evening Sasha came over to her house to fix Ellen's hair. Sasha also made her dress up into the prettiest dress she found in her closet. It was one of her mother's dresses.

"Isn't this too revealing?" Ellen asked, taking a look at herself in the mirror.

"Nonsense. It is perfect for tonight," Sasha said, eying it critically.

The dress showed too much cleavage in Ellen's opinion and the hem could have at least gone past her knees. "I'm not really looking for a hook up, you know."

"Don't be a spoilsport. We are only going to have fun, talk to some guys and make them buy us drinks."

The doorbell rang.

"That must be Mikasa," Sasha said and hurried to open the door to let her in.

Mikasa approved of Ellen's dress much to her horror. "It looks nice."

"But Mikasa, don't you think I am coming of as... I don't know, slutty perhaps?"

"No." Mikasa's face stayed impassive as she spoke, "You look beautiful."

Ellen smiled as she took another look of herself. "I'll take your word for it." She felt confident in the dress. She bit her lip. Maybe she would have enough confidence to go and talk to that guy who had been on her mind ever since she had met him. If only he was there.

For her disappointment she did not see Levi in the bar that evening. Sasha found some small group of cheerful soldiers that they talked to. They did just as Sasha had said, talked, had fun and made the guys buy them drinks. A good amount of flirting was going on but nothing too serious. Sasha charmed the guys with her laughter and Mikasa with her coolness. Ellen on the other hand kept to herself as she regretted hoping of seeing Levi.

One man should not be that important and Ellen hardly even knew him but there had been something about Levi that made Ellen want to see and talk to him again.

Ellen checked the time to see it was almost ten. She looked around to see Sasha still talking animatedly with one of the guys. Mikasa was nowhere to be seen, probably in the bathroom or something since she had not said anything about going home yet.

"Sasha!" Ellen shouted across the table. There was loud music on the background now as the dance for tonight was starting. "I'll be going home."

Sasha leaned over the table and the guy she had been talking to kept her from falling. "Aaw, Ellen, don't go yet." Ellen was a bit jealous of her and how easily she had found someone to talk to and enjoy their company.

"I'm tired and I have work."

"What about Mikasa?"

"Tell her I went home when she comes back."

"Okay if you are sure," Sasha said, looking worried.

"I'll be fine," Ellen assured her and left her alone with the guys.

Ellen made it outside. Some people lingered near the doors, smoking and talking. She had not walked far when she realized a group of three men were following her.

"Why don't you play with us? Just a little bit, sugar cube," one of the called out as they gained on her.

"Leave me alone," Ellen said stern with her words. She picked up her pace.

"Oh come on, you must be looking for action dressed like that. You are just playing hard to get."

"No, leave me alone," Ellen said one more time before she broke into a run but the guys were faster than she was.

"Where are you going, babe?"

Her heart was hammering in her chest from fear. She shouldn't have left alone. She should have waited for Mikasa or Sasha. Two of the guys grabbed her and dragged her to a nearby alley way while she screamed and kicked for them to let her go.

The third guy slapped a hand over her mouth. "You should have just come with us nicely. Now we have to get rough."

Ellen screamed through the hand, tears gathered in her eyes. Their filthy hands touched her bare legs.

"What on earth is going on here?"

Relief flooded through Ellen as soon as she heard that voice. The men let her go and she stumbled to stay upright.

"Captain Levi!" the men saluted.

"I asked, what is going on here?"

"Nothing, sir!" one of the men answered with a shaky voice. They were truly terrified of Levi as far as Ellen could see.

"Seems like nothing when the young lady is crying while you force yourself on her," his voice was like ice. His eyes piercing each one of the guys with an icy glare. "You three, get back to base. Be ready to be disciplined in the morning in front of the barracks at six."

"Yes sir!" The three men scrambled away as quickly as they could.

As soon as they were gone, Levi turned his gaze on Ellen and it softened. "Are you alright, Miss Jaeger?" his voice was much more softer as well.

"Ye-yes," Ellen said shaking all over. If he had not come to her rescue, she didn't even want to think of what would have been her fate.

"Don't worry. They won't harass you ever again. I'll make sure no one in the base will be doing anything of that nature to anyone."

"Thank you."

"It's not a problem."

"No, I mean, thank you for saving me."

The small yet gentle smile that Ellen had seen once before spread on Levi's face. "I am glad you are alright."

Ellen took a few deep breaths to get her heart to settle down. She fixed her dress and hair. She must look like a mess. She didn't even no why that mattered at this time.

Levi offered his hand to her. "Come, I'll escort you home."

Ellen looked at it and hesitated. She had just been attacked by the man's subordinates.

Levi retreated his hand when she made no move to take it. "I'll make sure you get home safe," he told her and took a few steps away from her. "Which way?"

"I live next to the church," Ellen said but Levi didn't move. "That way," she said an pointed as she realized that Levi had no idea where the church was. It was hidden from the vie by large trees at the end of the main road.

"Just tell me when to stop," Levi said and took the lead, making sure she was following him.

For the first few minutes Ellen walked a step behind the Captain. She wondered what the man had been doing out there in the first place? She felt oddly at ease with the Captain. There was no tension between them like Ellen had assumed there would be. Maybe it was the way Levi did not assume her to talk. At least the man made no effort in small talk so Ellen was left with the assumption that Levi did not mind the silence.

"Where you taking a walk?" she did ask however.

Levi turned his head to the side to indicate he had heard her. "As matter of fact, yes. I like the atmosphere of the town."

"Oh, okay," Ellen said understanding what he meant. There was something about Shiganshina that had made her stay there after all. Ellen took a few faster steps to come to walk by Levi's side. "Thank you for doing this," she said truly grateful for the escort.

"It is no problem at all, Miss Jaeger."

Ellen smiled at the strict way the man spoke to her. He was being proper and that fascinated her. His words held respect that a woman didn't always get.

They continued in silence until they reached her house. Ellen stopped and said, "This is where I live."

Levi had taken a few steps forward not noticing the sudden stop she had made. He took a look at the house. "Your house looks nice."

"Thank you." Ellen had no other way to respond to that. "And also for everything you've done."

"And I've said it many times already, it is no problem. I had my walk and made sure that you got home safely. Under different circumstances I'd freely say I got the better end of the deal."

Ellen smiled, wondering what exactly was the Captain implying with the 'better end of the deal'?

"Be sure to lock the door when you get inside," the man said, waiting for her to do so.

"Oh, yes, I will." Ellen walked the small path leading to the porch. She looked back and saw the Captain standing there, carefully observing her. "Good night," she called out to him after she had gotten her door open.

"Good night, Miss Jaeger," the man said, saluting her and then walking away.

Ellen did as instructed, locking the door with a smile on her face. The Captain didn't seem to be as bad as he first appeared. He looked cold but he was actually caring person underneath. Ellen truly hoped so because she could see herself falling for the man if that happened to be the case.

* * *

The morning was clear. Sun was shining from cloudless sky and Levi was making his way towards the barracks where the three men were waiting for him, standing in line.

He pulled on his white gloves as he stopped in front of them. "I am highly disappointed in you three," he started. "Never in my entire career have I met such pigs." Despite the fine day, Levi anger flared as he thought of the what these men tried to do to Ellen. "Tell me exactly what went through your heads that made you think that raping someone is anywhere near to an acceptable course of action."

The three men looked serious.

"You," Levi poked one of them in the chest. "Enlighten me on this matter, will you?" He didn't even give them the respect of using their names. Pigs like them didn't have the right to have a name.

"It was not my idea, Captain Levi," the man answered sounding unsure.

"Who the fuck let you into the army? Have you not learned anything while you have been here!?" his anger was apparent in his voice as he raised it just enough to bark out his words. "Who was the fucker who thought up this marvelous idea then?"

"It was Pinkman, sir!" said the other of the two remaining men that Levi had not talked to yet.

"Who the hell gave you the permission to speak?" Levi asked icily, glaring at the man who had just spoken out. "You three clearly have no idea what it means to be in the military at all. You follow orders, you do as you are told, nothing more and nothing less. You three are already failing at these basic things." Levi kept looking at each of them but none of the men dared to meet his eye. "Get on your knees," he ordered them and watched as the men scrambled to carry out his order.

When it had been carried out Levi continued, "You are nothing more than pawns to the higher ups. You better hammer that fact into your heads. After all, the military doesn't need wild dogs in its midst. You all know what happens to wild dogs, don't you?" his tone got sinister and a smile to match tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Levi emphasized each of his next words, "Wild dogs get put out of their misery."

The three men gulped.

"I will do it personally," Levi continued. "I'll make sure none of you will ever get an idea such as raping someone ever again." He took a good look of their pale faces. "Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes, sir!" all three of them barked out in unison.

"If I ever hear or see any of you three doing anything like this again, All three of you will pay the price. I do not care if you are alone or whose idea what is, you'll be punished all together." Levi wanted to hit each of them with everything he had but direct violence was prohibited. "I want each of you cleaning the toilets for the remaining time we are here. I expect them to be cleaned by six o'clock in the morning. I'll inspect them every morning and if they are not up to my standards you are redoing them again and again until they are. You might think this is an easy way out of this but what I want to point out to you with this punishment is that you'll be cleaning the shit that you yourselves are."

* * *

Ellen heard the door to the shop open the next day. She smiled when she saw that it was Captain Levi.

"Good morning. I came for the clothes," the man informed her.

"Of course. I'll bring them to you right away." She escaped to the back to get the parcel she had made. Slight disappointment was seeping into her heart. She had been romanticizing the idea of their second meeting inside her head.

"Here you go, sir," she said when she walked back to the front.

"Thank you." Levi took the offered parcel but he was not in a hurry. He contemplated the idea of asking her out on the spot.

Ellen noticed that small hesitation that occurred. "Is there anything else you need?" she asked out of courtesy and curiosity.

"I was wondering," the man began. "If you'd like to have dinner with me tonight?"

Ellen was in shock, surely she had heard wrong. "Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry. Did I impose? I didn't mean to."

"No, no, I'm just surprised that's all."

"Why? Surely you get asked out a lot?" What was there to be surprised about? Ellen seemed out to be a very sweet young woman. He could not understand her surprise.

"No, I don't actually." Ellen fiddled wit the hem of her apron that she wore to work. It was easy to pin needles on and carry a pair of scissors in the front pouch.

"But you are beautiful." Levi was blunt, even he himself knew that but he was not one to lie.

Ellen blushed. "That's going a bit too far, don't you think?"

"No, I don't think so."

Ellen blushed even harder and she stuttered. "We-well in tha-that case." She cleared her throat. "I.." This was not how it was supposed to go. She knew she had much more confidence than this. The Captain had just caught her by surprise. She had not believed for one second that the man would ever ask her out. Well, not so soon at least.

"I do understand if you say no. It's okay."

"No!" Ellen shot her hand out in front of her to stop Levi from saying any more than that. "I mean I guess I could go," She said timidly.

That gentle smile spread on his lips once again. "Only if you are sure," Levi commented.

Ellen cleared her throat again as a nervous habit. "Yes," she said, this time with a little more confidence. "I would love to go."

"At what time do you close the shop?"

"At six."

"I'll be here at six then."

"But I need to go home and change and..." she trailed off, horrified that she would make her date wait for unnecessarily.

"I don't mind waiting."

"But-"

"I insist, Miss Jaeger."

Ellen bit her lower lip as she wondered how stubborn was the man to insist something like that. "Call me Ellen," she requested softly.

"Ellen."

Maybe she shouldn't have given him the permission to do so because suddenly her name sounded very intimate kind of thing that only selected few could use.

Levi offered his hand to Ellen and she slipped hers into his, this time with no hesitation. Levi pressed a kiss on the back of her hand once again. "I need to get going. I'll see you at six, Ellen," he said as he released the hold on her hand.

"Okay," Ellen answered, she was being wowed and she had no idea how to react to these things and keep a clear head. She was already having a crush on the Captain.

"Until then," Levi bid her goodbye with a slight tilt of his head forwards as he walked out of the door.

Ellen sighed when he was gone. What had she gotten herself into?


	2. Chapter 2

Ellen had been nervous when Levi came to pick her up for that dinner that he had promised to her. Now she had the chance to get to know if the man was anywhere near what she had imagined him to be. He did seem kind under the cold impasse exterior.

Her nervousness slowly dissipated within the first hour of their date, because that was exactly what it was, a date. She found herself enjoying the man's company who was as polite as he had been earlier. The subtle smiles that he send her way with not too over the top compliments melted her barriers away. She had always thought that men would be only after casual relationships but Levi seemed genuinely interested listening to her talking about her work.

As it turned out Levi was a good listener and that was something that Ellen really liked about him. His blunt comments or questions first seemed odd but Ellen realized that Levi was not one for hiding what he really thought and liked voicing his opinions without the intend of hurting anyone.

Honesty.

That was also a thing that Ellen was looking for in a man. So it was not surprising for her to notice that she developed a crush on the handsome Captain as the man turned out to be more than just handsome.

The Captain had a realistic way of looking at things. He was not naïve enough to think that they could escape the war even if he was not in the military that much had been obvious to him.

They had dinner every other night for a week until one night Levi had just walked her home and they were standing at her doorstep.

Ellen sensed that something was on Levi's mind and found it both scary and adorable that the man seemed to hesitate with his words.

"May I kiss you, Ellen?" the man finally asked when the silence had stretched a bit too long.

Ellen's heart skipped a beat and she shifted nervously. "Yes," she said and waited with baited breath what Levi's lips would feel like upon her own.

Their first kiss was rather simple one but Ellen didn't feel disappointed by the soft touch of the man's lips. The tenderness seemed something she would not have thought would come from Levi. She had feared that he would be rough and demanding but he was not. Something as simple as a soft kiss made her feel respected. She liked to believe that he wanted to prove her something with the kiss.

Their dates ended up lip locked more often than not and few weeks passed in a haze. Ellen was happy. She was on cloud nine and work felt easy task to do while she daydreamed of the man who had stolen her heart.

It excited her that the Captain seemed unaffected by things on the outside and in the public but once they were behind closed doors the man would simply sweep her off her feet. Ellen could not complain about the lack of public displays of affection when she received more than enough when they were alone.

Public dinners soon changed into cozy home evenings as Ellen invited Levi to taste her cooking instead of paying for a meal every single time. The man had still insisted that he would pay for the ingredients which Ellen had denied him from doing.

When she found herself spending more time kissing the man than actually talking to him, Ellen made a decision. "I want to make love to you," she said before she started doubting herself.

The boldness of Ellen surprised Levi, even though the thought had occurred to him a few times but he had kept it hidden away. He was worried she might not want such attention from him after what had almost happened to her.

"Are you sure?" he asked, looking into her beautiful green eyes that sparkled with specs of gold.

"Yes."

* * *

Only a few weeks had passed and Ellen was feeling more than content falling asleep in the arms of a man that she loved.

But still Levi's words surprised her.

"Let's get married."

Ellen raised her head from her pillow to look at the man next to her in bed. "What?" she asked

Levi hesitated for a mere second. "What I am about to tell you, can't leave this room, do you understand?"

Ellen nodded. "Yes."

"I have no official dates but everything is pointing towards the direction that the war is going to break out within a month."

"Oh my god," Ellen whispered.

"I know and I want nothing else more than spend that time with you."

Ellen didn't know what to say. She was both feeling both scared and loved at the same time.

"At least if I die-" Levi started to say. It was a possibility after all, a high one at that.

"No, don't say that." Ellen wanted to hush him and make him promise to never speak like that again.

"Ellen, listen, if I die... you will get whatever I own and receive pension for being my widow."

"Don't say that kind of things."

"But it is the reality. Besides, I do not want the town's people talk ill of you for spending your time with me. You know as well as I do that there will always be people who frown upon what we are doing and I don't want you to suffer through that." He had a personal experience with such thing. He was a bastard born to a mother that had an affair with some traveling merchant that never came back. His mother had been called with awful names and the local kids had teased him for being a bastard.

"I can take care of myself," Ellen protested after hearing such a reason.

"I know that," Levi cradled her head in his hands and kissed her forehead. "Would it be too much to ask to have someone to return to?" he asked with a softer tone.

"You better come back then."

"I will," he promised.

And so within the next week they got married in secret, Ellen's two best friends, Mikasa and Sasha, being their witnesses.

They spend the upcoming month together just like a newly wed couple should. They were not hiding their marriage from anyone but not exactly promoting it either. Levi had been surprised by his squad back in the base with congratulations and well wishes which he had not expected.

* * *

"The news just came in," was the first thing Levi said when he stepped into the shop that afternoon. Ellen didn't need to ask what news, she already knew just by looking at Levi's face.

She didn't know what she was supposed to say. She knew the day would come when Levi would leave her.

Ellen walked up to him, throwing her arms shamelessly around him. "Oh my god," she whispered.

"You knew this day would come," Levi was quietly, not trying to particularly comfort her. They both knew what was coming and it was time they faced the reality of separation. "I'll be back as soon as the war ends."

"You better!" Ellen exclaimed and could not help her eyes from watering. She would be alone from this day forth. "I love you," she said softly, swallowing back the tears and sobs.

"I love you too."

Ellen was still hugging him tightly, unable to let go.

"I'm pregnant," she suddenly said.

"What?" Levi asked in bewilderment, pushing her gently away far enough to look at her face.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure but my period should have started two weeks ago."

Levi was speechless. He had something to come back to, something that he would be able to call his own.

A wife and possibly a child.

A family.

"Thank you for telling me," he said, kissing her lips briefly. "Thank you, Ellen." He would do his best to stay alive for the sake of Ellen and their child.

They hugged each other for a minute longer until Levi said, "I have to go. There is shit ton of work to do. If you have anything that you want to write me about Brad is going to be posted in the post office. Go to him if you have anything. He'll take care of all the military post."

"Okay," was the only thing Ellen could think of to say.

"I'm coming back home as soon as I can," were his parting words.

Ellen stood there in middle of her shop floor for several minutes after he was gone. Neither of them had said goodbye because this was not a goodbye. Levi would come back. Ellen was sure of it.

* * *

The next months where the worst ones as the war broke out. Ellen feared to receive a notice on Levi's death any day but as each day went along there was no such notice. She refrained from writing to him too many times. She did write letters, a lot of them but she didn't send them all. She only send one per week, intending to keep the rest and give them to him when he'd be back.

Ellen discovered that her assumptions were right. She was pregnant and received a few dirty looks as she made her way through the town. Some old hag didn't understand her or her relationship with Levi, calling her a whore at worst. Ellen didn't listen to them. What did they words mean to her anyway? She was married, she was waiting for her husband to come back. Their words were something she had expected ever since she started seeing the handsome Captain.

She found herself smiling to herself at work as she recalled the times she had spend with Levi. As her tummy grew she found herself talking to the baby, feeling a bit silly at times when Mikasa caught her doing so.

Ellen had been worried for a moment what her friends would think of her marrying someone like Levi but she didn't not regret it. Ellen hoped that her friends saw that. Sasha seemed completely happy with the baby news.

"You know, we were just supposed to have some fun with the military boys but you took it too seriously," Sasha teased her one day when she had just learned that Ellen was pregnant.

After a while Sasha had grown serious, with a smile on her face and said, "I'm happy for you."

When Mikasa had joined in saying the same thing, Ellen hadn't been able to hold her tears at bay. She had hugged her friends telling them how grateful she was to have them.

Sasha had then revealed that she had met someone who was also a soldier. A cute guy who had declared that when he came back the first thing he would do was to propose to her. Sasha had found that adorable but she didn't really think he would do so. "He'll probably forget about me and if he is lucky enough to survive, he will find someone much prettier."

Both Ellen and Mikasa told her that she was being silly. Sasha was beautiful but her habit for eating a lot was stressing her out. Sasha claimed that she was too fat which was a silly notion. Ellen didn't know where all the food went to because it didn't show on her body at all.

Interacting with her friends helped Ellen through the tough times of missing Levi. But Ellen could not help but succumb to the dark thoughts and fears when she was alone in bed at night. Every night he hoped she could wake up next to Levi again soon.

* * *

Their advance had gone well. The battalion that Levi was in, had taken some of the most strategic points on the foreign land and they had been able to set up a main camp within the enemy territory. So far they were winning but Levi knew that anything could tip the scale at any moment.

Given that their attack had gone well did not mean that things were well. The men were tired, most of them had gotten over the blood and gore within the first week. Over time they would not think twice about taking someone's life. But that was how things were going to be and it was enough as long as they could tell the difference between a friend an a foe.

One bright thing that kept him going was Ellen. His wife kept sending him a letter per week and she always wrote how she missed him in a subtle ways that he knew held deeper longing than what she told him. He missed her as well and the thought that she was there waiting, thinking about him was what would make all of this worth it.

She confirmed her pregnancy in the letters, letting him know that everything was fine and going as it should. Her babbles about baby names and things she was going to make for the baby were the kind of break Levi wanted from the war. He read her letters over and over when he finally had the time just for himself for a few hours. He slept knowing that she was fine and all was well with the baby.

It didn't come as a surprise to him that one week he didn't receive a letter but instead one of his subordinates came rushing in to the tent that they had near the front lines.

"Captain!" the man exclaimed.

Levi expected some sort of emergency happening somewhere, waiting to hear the bad news but instead the man broke into a huge smile.

"Your wife! The word came in that she gave birth to a healthy baby boy."

The news made him realize how long they had already been on this road of killing and devastation. Despite the grim circumstances the men in the tent witnessed him smiling and shedding a tear or two. He got goodhearted claps on the back as well as round of congratulations from everyone. News such as these were what brightened everyone's day.

* * *

The war went of for six long years. Ellen hadn't received any word that Levi had died so she strongly believed that Levi was still coming back. Besides her letters that she send were delivered. Although there were few months here and there when Brad had told her that civilian post was not being delivered because the battle got intense and mail like that would not be delivered for safety reason.

Ellen couldn't argue with that and so she kept on writing her letters, hoping that she would be able to send the ones that she wanted. She send a picture of their son to Levi once. Photographs were not cheap and thus the only one she had of Levi was their wedding photo. That photo she showed to their son, Sebastian, telling him that the man in the picture was his father and that he would be coming back home as soon as the war ended.

Ellen would remember the day when the war ended with clarity for a long time. The relief she felt was overwhelming. The news were a godsend. The two countries had reached a peace treaty and the armies were being dissolved. There was a flood of soldiers coming to the town in those first weeks but Levi was not among them.

Ellen did not worry. She held on strong, waiting. She knew that Levi was in the front lines, thus he would be one of the last ones to come home. He was positioned far into the foreign territory after all.

"He might be dead," Jean said when Ellen had been waiting for three weeks for Levi to return after the peace had been accomplished.

"He is not dead, Jean," she told him as she looked out of the window of her little shop. There were few soldiers talking down the road. They were clearly on their way to the train station to get home.

"He should be back already. You should think of Sebastian and remarry."

Ellen was sick of this conversation. This was a topic that Jean had approached her about several times during the war. He told her that it would be safer for her, easier to raise her little boy. "He will be back and I do not need anyone's help in raising my son. He doesn't need another father when he already has one."

"Stop being so stubborn, Ellen."

"I am not stubborn!" her voice rose and she calmed herself right after. Sebastian was taking a nap in the backroom and she didn't want to wake him up. "I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't keep pestering me about this."

"Well you know where to come if he doesn't come back." With those words Jean left her alone.

Ellen could understand his point of view. Maybe life would be easier for Sebastian but she was not going to betray Levi until she had concrete proof that he wasn't coming back. She would wait until there were any of such news.

* * *

It was two more weeks later when the door to her shop opened with a gentle jingle ringing through the shop.

"Just a minute!" she called out, thinking that it was probably Elizabeth March coming to pick up her dress for her wedding. Ellen had worked hard on it and it had been the exact type of distraction that she had needed.

When she finally got a chance to walk to the front of the shop, she came to an halt when she saw how it was that was waiting for her. She stood there, breath caught in her throat. Relief, love and happiness overwhelmed her. She bit her lower lip to prevent herself from crying but it was in vain.

"I'm home," Levi said with the voice that Ellen had only heard in her dreams for the past six years.

Ellen couldn't say anything, she just ran to him, throwing her arms around her husband and cried her heart out.

"It took longer than I thought," Levi's voice sounded tired.

"You're here. You are really here," Ellen sobbed not believing that the warm person in her arms was her husband. Her treacherous mind had deceived her before when she had dreamt of Levi returning but this felt too real to be a dream.

She pulled away and kissed him, again and again until she was certain that he was really there. "I love you," she hiccuped, not able to stop crying.

"Mum?" a little boy's voice came from the near the counter of the shop.

"Darling," Ellen said. "Sebastian come here."

The little boy looked at her crying mother and then the man who had his arms around her gently. "Daddy?" the boy asked with disbelief that mirrored Ellen's own.

"Yeah, that's me," Levi said, unable to keep his eyes dry. That had been exactly what he had wanted to hear for years.

"Daddy!" the boy ran to him and Levi took the little boy in his arms.

Even if they had not ever met before Levi felt as if he knew the little boy in his arms. Ellen had described things that the boy did and said in her letters. Now he had the chance to hold him at last. "I missed you," Levi whispered into the boys soft hair that was dark like his.

The little boy was ecstatic to have his father home for the first time ever. Ellen was more than happy to let the little boy babble to his father about the things that he had always wanted to ask or talk about with him. With a smile on her lips she watched as Levi relaxed with his son as if they had never been apart.

It was good to have him home and soon the years of waiting for him felt like a long forgotten past. Levi had resigned the military altogether and found whatever work there was within the little town that his family lived in. He didn't complain about anything as he was happy to be with the people he loved with a promised peaceful times ahead.

Ten months later Ellen gave birth to a perfect little girl who got the name Michelle.

* * *

**THE END**


End file.
